Unending: An Immortal Spacemonkey Story
by Shannon K
Summary: This is Unending but with a side of my Immortal Spacemonkey.


Unending: An Immortal Spacemonkey Story

Disclaimer: As much as I might wish, I do not own Stargate: SG1, Highlander: the Series, or any recognizable characters from either show. However, any characters that are not from either show are mine and I will use and abuse them as I see fit. Everyone else will be returned eventually, for I am only borrowing for a while, but they might end up a bit scuffed.

This is a short story, inspired by watching Unending and having a lively discussion on Facebook about Vala and Daniel and my previous Immortal Spacemonkey stories. I did have to use some direct dialogue from the end of the show, but infringements are intended. Also, there is way less potty language in this story than normal, but I kept with a T rating because of my general paranoia.

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It had been a week since they had been stuck on the Odyssey, stuck in Sam's time dilation bubble, seconds from a miserable death in space. They: General Landry, Mitchell, Teal'c, Sam, Vala, and Daniel had unloaded the crew and attempted to run from the Ori, but were unable to evade the Ori and escape for good. They didn't want to risk anymore members of the crew than necessary.

Everyone tried to find ways to occupy their time while in the time bubble. Sam stuck to astrophysics and the cello. Landry did paperwork and raised plants. Teal'c organized things, kelno'reem-ed, and assisted Mitchell in practicing his warrior moves learned from the Sodan. Mitchell also ran around the ship, when not sparring with Teal'c and bitching about their predicament. Vala, of course, did her best to temp Daniel with her womanly ways. And Daniel, well, he was Daniel.

Daniel occupied himself with learning as much as he could about the Asgard and did his best to rebuff Vala and her advances.

Also he occasionally sparred with Teal'c, when Mitchell wasn't around. Daniel, while he trusted the man on the battlefield, he wasn't too sure he could trust Cam Mitchell with the secret of his status as an Immortal. The man had a big mouth at times. He didn't want to have to explain why he could fight with a sword like an expert. Silence seemed to be the best course of action.

Vala and Landry didn't know his secret either. Daniel didn't trust Vala to keep the knowledge to herself and he didn't trust Landry to not let the military know about the existence of Immortals and the Game once they got out of the time bubble. General Hammond and Jack had been friends and had earned his trust. Vala and Landry, while both good people, yes even Vala, had not been known long enough to be included in his circle of trust when it came to the subject of immortality.

Sam and Teal'c knew of course. They found out years before after a seriously bad experience on an alien planet.

Hopefully, in Daniel's mind, Sam would figure out how to save them from getting blown up by the Ori, therefore Vala and Landry would not find out his secrets, his past.

"I miss Jack," Daniel said as he and Teal'c sparred in the open workout area.

"I am sure O'Neill would love to hear you say that. It would make his twenty-four hour solar cycle," Teal'c replied as the two faced off with staffs.

"What would it take for you to not tell him that? Ever." Daniel asked, swinging his staff up and over, going for a head strike, only to be blocked by the Jaffa.

"You do not have enough money or possessions to prevent it from happening DanielJackson," Teal'c rumbled his reply, smoothly blocking Daniel's strike and countering with one of his own, this time a strike to Daniel's solar plexus, knocking the wind out of him.

"Tonight is movie night and it is my turn to pick. If I give it to you, will you not tell Jack I said that?" Daniel offered, once he regained his ability to breathe, hoping it would delay the torture of Jack finding out he missed him.

"It is a start," Teal'c said and began a flurry of strikes, forcing Daniel to pay attention to the fight.

They battled back and forth, neither of them giving up. While Teal'c had size and strength to his advantage, Daniel had experience and quickness. Which was a good thing, since Teal'c could hit exceptionally hard even with the padding around either ends of the staffs they were using.

Their fight was brought to a close when Teal'c swept Daniel's feet out from underneath him, knocking him to the ground, and had the end of the staff pointed at his throat.

Daniel grinned at his friend and took the proffered hand to help him up from his spot on the floor.

Suddenly there was clapping coming from the door way. Daniel and Teal'c looked over in surprise to see Mitchell standing there watching them.

"Not bad Daniel. With some practice you could end up being a decent swordsman," the Lieutenant Colonel observed.

Daniel and Teal'c exchanged a look. Daniel's said, "really," and was full of sarcasm, while Teal'c raised eyebrow said, "calm your ego and don't do something stupid."

"Well, pugil sticks are quite different from sword fighting," Daniel said, a bit of arrogance creeping into his voice. Surviving for over five thousand years thanks in large part to his skill with a sword allowed for the arrogance.

Cam looked a little blasé. "The hand hold is different, but the quickness and footwork are somewhat similar." He then tossed an unpadded stick to Daniel who caught it with ease. "Would you like a lesson?"

Teal'c seeing the look on Daniel's face made him pause. "CameronMitchell, I do not think this would be a wise endeavor for you to pursue."

"Oh come on," he said, laughing. "It will be fun. It never hurts to learn something new, Jackson."

Daniel hefted the stick, about three feet in length, made of hard wood. It wasn't his sword, but it would do. "Sure, ready for the first lesson."

Teal'c shook his head and stepped back. "Do not kill him, please. I do not want to have to explain the Samantha or General Landry why he is among the deceased. Vala would be displeased too."

Daniel grinned at his friend, doing nothing to alleviate Teal'c's worries.

Cam just laughed. "I promise it won't be that bad. I'll take it easy."

"I wasn't talking to you CameronMitchell," Teal'c replied.

The two men faced off and began with a few tentative strikes, circling each other slowly. Cam made a few suggestions to Daniel about his hold and his footwork, which Daniel ignored.

Finally tired of Cam's "tips" and sloppy sword work, Daniel attacked, unleashing a flurry of strikes and quickly disarmed his opponent, ending with the tip of his "sword" resting up against Cam's throat.

"Woah! Woah! Woah! What the hell just happened?" Cam asked, shocked that that just happened. "When did you become Samurai Jackson?"

Daniel looked at his teammate with typical Daniel Jackson cynicism, barely even breathing hard. "What makes you think I don't know how to use a sword? And my style is not of Japanese origins. You on the other hand, treat your weapon like a club, content to pound the person into submission. And your footwork is sloppy."

Cameron was amazed. He never would have suspected Daniel of having these kinds of skills. "Can you teach me?" he asked, looking hopeful. It would at least give him something else to do, besides bitching about their predicament.

Daniel briefly considered the pros and cons of teaching Cam sword work. Pro: it would give both of them something to do, breaking up the monotony of the day. Con: It would risk Cam learning about Immortality. Pro: he loved teaching. Con: It would risk Cam learning about Immortality. Pro: it would help keep Vala at bay. Con: It would risk Cam learning about Immortality.

"Fine, be here tomorrow at sixteen hundred for your first lesson," Daniel decided.

"Great," Cam said enthusiastically.

"Great," Daniel said less enthusiastically.

"A word DanielJackson?" Teal'c asked then grabbed a hold of his friend and hauled him further away from Cam.

"Is this wise? What if he discovers about your Immortality? What if you have a flashback and you end up hurting CameronMitchell?"

"I haven't had a violent flashback in years. There isn't a whole lot that would trigger one here in dead space," Daniel explained.

"I worry for the both of you," Teal'c intoned.

Daniel smiled at his friend, grateful for the worry. "I'll be careful."

Teal'c glowered. "You and the word careful in the same sentence is not something that occurs naturally," he grumbled and slapped his friend on the shoulder.

"So, sixteen hundred? Cameron asked with a smile on his face.

"Be here," Daniel said, ignoring Teal'c's raised eyebrow.

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The next day, same as the first, Daniel spent hours studying the vast library of knowledge of the Asgard. There was so much information, he could spend a lifetime studying it and not get through it all. It was exciting, yet a little depressing. How many times had he wished for just a chance to sit and learn, and now that he had the chance he was looking for something else to do.

Daniel also spent time rebuffing Vala's advances. Yes he thought she was beautiful and funny, but there was still a part of his heart that was firmly attached to Sha're. While he admired Vala's efforts in the fight against the Ori and felt bad over the time she spent as a host to Qetesh, it wasn't enough. She deserved more than someone who could only give a part of his heart to her.

Finally, at sixteen hundred, Daniel showed up in the workout room, wearing sweats, a t-shirt, and carrying two bamboo kendo practice swords that someone had brought aboard well before SG-1 arrived on board. While the swords weren't exactly within his preferred style, he was familiar with kendo and could adapt things to fit both the student and the teacher.

"So Jackson, how long have you done the sword thing," Mitchell asked, curious about his archeologist's newly discovered (to him at least) talent. The Air Force officer, also dressed similarly in sweats and an Air Force t-shirt, looked eager to learn something, rather than just pass the time running through the empty halls and complaining.

"Oh, longer than I care to think about," was Daniel's reply.

Daniel took Cam through some basic katas, demonstrating them with flawlessness and ease. It was nice to go through his forms, losing himself in the art, feeling free of the oppressiveness of their collective situation.

After nearly two hours of instruction, Daniel called it for the day. Dinner was happening soon and it was Landry's turn to cook. The General was a surprisingly good cook. Daniel did promise Cam that his next lesson would be the day after next. Cam needed a rest; the mortal had to be hurting. Thank goodness for Immortal healing.

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The next day, Daniel was in his room and so was Vala, nearly shirtless. After some yelling, at first, on his part, Daniel let Vala know once and for all that at this point in his life that whatever she was hoping for to happen between them wasn't possible. He also told her that he couldn't offer her what she wanted: children and a future together.

"Vala, I can't have kids. I've never been able to. You've mentioned several times your regret that you weren't allowed to be a mother to Adria and you wished you could have a chance at it again. I can't give you that. I am so sorry," Daniel admitted sadly.

"You can't have children?" Vala asked, perplexed. "Are you not capable of the act of making babies?"

"What? Of course I can. I am sterile. I've never been able to have kids, but it doesn't interfere with my ability to have sex. And why in the hell am I telling you this?" Daniel finished, wondering why he was telling her this. It was such a personal thing.

"Oh," Vala said, looking disappointed as she put her shirt back on. "You could have told me that years ago when I was kicking your ass on the Prometheus."

"Yeah," Daniel laughed sarcastically as he sat down on his neatly made bed. "Telling someone dressed as a Kull Warrior, hey for future reference, I can't have kids so don't bother throwing yourself at me. That makes perfect sense. And you weren't kicking my ass."

"Sure, if it makes you happy to think that," she said before hurrying on to what really interested her. "What happened to you? Does it make you sad?" Vala asked, sitting on a chair, looking at her teammate with new eyes.

"Nothing happened to make me this way. I've always known I couldn't have kids. Yes, it makes me sad sometimes, but there is nothing I can do about it. Adoption is always a beautiful thing. I was adopted," he said, shrugging. Technically he was adopted by the Jacksons, at one point in time, but things got muddled thanks to time travel.

Vala and Daniel sat there in his room, talking. It was the first time in a very long time, if ever, that the two of them just sat and had a conversation that didn't involve him being angry or her flirting outrageously, intent on embarrassing him. It was nice to just relate to each other as friends. Of course Daniel didn't tell her everything, just stuff from the time that would be logical. She didn't need to know about time travel and Immortality.

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Over the next months and years, things continued to be the same. They were stuck in the time dilation field. Sam continued to research a way to save them and the ship. Cam continued to complain. Landry expanded his greenhouse. Teal'c kelno'reem-ed and watched Star Wars to the point of it being unhealthy. Vala continued to look after everyone's mental well- being. Daniel continued to study the Asgard database and teach Cam about swordsmanship.

Things did change though. Sam learned to play the cello and started a relationship with Teal'c. Vala and Cam became a couple also; they also became expectant parents, but lost the baby early on. Landry got sick and eventually died.

Daniel remained the same.

Eventually he had to tell Cam, Vala, and Landry, before the General died, about his Immortality. It was evitable that he had to explain why he wasn't aging, but everyone else was growing older. They didn't take it well at first, but eventually they calmed down and understood why he didn't tell them to begin with. They weren't mad because he was Immortal. They were mad that he didn't trust them with his secret. Kind of a repeat of why Jack, Teal'c, and Sam were mad at him when he told them the truth all of those years ago.

"Who would we tell?" Landry barked, scowling at Daniel.

Daniel flinched a little. "I figured we would be out of here in a couple of months, maybe a year, and I wouldn't have to tell you guys."

"Daniel, I would never have told anyone about this," Vala said gently, looking at her friend with no small amount of hurt.

"This explains why you know so much about swords. You must have grown up in the Middle Ages," Cam exclaimed.

"Hardly Cam," Daniel smirked. "I've been around for over five thousand years. I remember the pyramids being landing platforms for the Goa'uld."

"Why use a sword then? Those went out of style years ago," Landry asked, leaning forward, interested in the answer.

"They went out of use for regular people centuries ago, but not for Immortals," Daniel explained then went on to tell them about the beheadings and the Game.

Eventually they got over their irritation and alarm over his long life and things went on as normal. Well, normal for five people stuck on a spaceship.

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"I did it," an aged Sam said as the group, minus Landry, sat around their dinner table.

"You did what?" old Cam asked, looking at his friend in confusion.

"I figured out how to reverse time in a localized field," Sam elaborated. "Maintaining the time dilation field for all this time has almost completely depleted the ZPM, and the power source in the Asgard core."

"So theoretically it could be done but we don't have the power for it because of time?" Cam asked.

Sam laughed slightly. "Yeah. I created the field to buy us more time. I finally figure out how to undo it all, and that extra time is what makes it impossible."

"Sam do you remember the time we were stuck in out of phase and you thought you were dying and we used an Ori staff weapon power source to power Merlin's device?" Cam asked.

"We don't have anything even close to a power source that would be required to keep a reverse time-field working for long enough," Sam countered.

Cam then pointed out the obvious, at least to him, power source that was staring at them in face.

As a team, like always, they came up with a plan to channel the power to the core to reverse the time dilation field. Teal'c offered to stay behind, outside of the time loop and steer things in the right way.

"Teal'c come on, it has to be me. I'm the Immortal here. It's my job," Daniel said with a slight smile. "I've got the time, you don't even with your extended Jaffa lifespan."

"But Daniel, you'll be alone again," Vala said, reaching across the table to squeeze her friend's hand.

"No I won't. I have you guys. I'm never alone," Daniel said.

"Daniel," Sam began, but Daniel interrupted her.

"Sam, fifty years is nothing compared to all of the time I had to wait to be friends with you guys again. Even then I wasn't alone, because I knew that we would be together again as SG-1. What have we got to lose anyway? Eventually the ship will fail and we will die. I could easily die and revive and die again, leading to madness for me until I am freed. I don't think the galaxy wants an insane Danil. Unless I get blown up and my Quickening is lost forever," Daniel explained.

"And that is the most depressing thing I have heard in years," Cam replied.

"But it is the truth. We don't have much choice here," Daniel retorted.

Teal'c chimed in. "It seems to be the wisest choice we have among bad choices. It is settled."

The plan worked, and the controls to the Asgard core was severed from the hyperdrive so the ship could get away without the Ori following. Daniel, was the only one who remembered what had happened.

The members of SG-1 found themselves geared up and waiting in the gate room for their next mission. Vala busied herself, after checking her gear, badgering Daniel for information about what had happened to the team while they were aboard the Odyssey.

"Vala, if you give it a rest, I will tell you a tale tonight about a few things," Daniel said, doing his best to not roll his eyes.

"Does it involve our sex lives?" she asked, though having enough decency to keep her voice low.

Daniel looked at her with a pinched look. "No, but I promise you will like it.

Sam turned to Daniel, "You know, as hard as it is for us not knowing, it must be torture for you not to tell us."

Indeed," Teal'c rumbled, agreeing with his friend.

"Good things come to those who wait," Daniel said with a smile.

"Let's head out people, the galaxy isn't going to explore itself," Cam said, verbally nudging everyone towards the gate. They had a mission that needed completing.

"Indeed," Daniel said, smiling and joining his team as they stepped through the gate.

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A/N: This was a lot of fun to write and I hope you liked it as much as I did. I also want to give a big shout out to the folks over at the 5th Race. Our discussions gave me plenty of ideas and fed my muse. Marcia: while I disagree with you on Vala, I kind of took your perspective of Daniel and Vala not being a good match. Thank you for your thoughts and ideas.

Finally, thank you to Lori: my beta, my cheerleader, and dear friend. Your encouragement means a lot.

That said, I am glad your read this story and if you feel the need to drop me a review, please hit the shiny button and let me know your thoughts, though I do ask for constructive criticism; flames are not welcome.


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